ToolTask Class

  • Article

When overridden in a derived form, provides functionality for a task that wraps a command line tool.

MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
  Microsoft.Build.Utilities.Task
    Microsoft.Build.Utilities.ToolTask
      Microsoft.Build.Tasks.ToolTaskExtension
      Microsoft.Build.Tasks.Xaml.XamlDataDrivenToolTask

Namespace:  Microsoft.Build.Utilities
Assembly:  Microsoft.Build.Utilities.Core (in Microsoft.Build.Utilities.Core.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
Public MustInherit Class ToolTask _
    Inherits Task _
    Implements ICancelableTask, ITask

public abstract class ToolTask : Task, 
    ICancelableTask, ITask

public ref class ToolTask abstract : public Task, 
    ICancelableTask, ITask

[<AbstractClass>]
type ToolTask =  
    class 
        inherit Task 
        interface ICancelableTask 
        interface ITask 
    end

public abstract class ToolTask extends Task implements ICancelableTask, ITask

The ToolTask type exposes the following members.

Constructors

  Name Description
Protected method ToolTask() Initializes a new instance of the ToolTask class.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method ToolTask(ResourceManager) Initializes a new instance of the ToolTask class with the specified ResourceManager.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method ToolTask(ResourceManager, String) Initializes a new instance of the ToolTask class with the specified ResourceManager and Help keyword prefix.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.

Top

Properties

  Name Description
Public property BuildEngine Gets or sets the instance of the IBuildEngine object used by the task.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0. (Inherited from Task.)
Public property BuildEngine2 Gets the instance of the IBuildEngine2 object used by the task.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0. (Inherited from Task.)
Public property BuildEngine3 Gets the instance of the IBuildEngine3 object used by the task.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0. (Inherited from Task.)
Public property BuildEngine4 Gets the instance of the IBuildEngine4 object used by the task.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0. (Inherited from Task.)
Public property EchoOff Indicates that command line echoing is turned off.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property EnvironmentOverride Obsolete. Gets a set of environment variable name-value pairs. Designed to be overridden in a custom task class (derived from ToolTask) to return a set of new or altered environment variables to create the execution context of the associated tool. MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public property EnvironmentVariables Array of equals-separated pairs of environment variables that should be passed to the spawned executable, in addition to (or selectively overriding) the regular environment block.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public property ExitCode Gets the returned exit code of the executable file.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property HasLoggedErrors Whether this ToolTask has logged any errorsMSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property HelpKeywordPrefix Gets or sets the prefix used to compose Help keywords from resource names.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0. (Inherited from Task.)
Public property HostObject Gets or sets the host object associated with the task.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0. (Inherited from Task.)
Public property Log Gets an instance of a TaskLoggingHelper class containing task logging methods.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0. (Inherited from Task.)
Public property LogStandardErrorAsError Should ALL messages received on the standard error stream be logged as errors.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property ResponseFileEncoding Gets the Encoding of the response file.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property StandardErrorEncoding Gets the Encoding of the standard error stream of the task.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public property StandardErrorImportance Task Parameter: Importance with which to log text from the standard error stream.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property StandardErrorImportanceToUse Gets the actual importance at which standard error messages will be logged.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property StandardErrorLoggingImportance Gets the MessageImportance with which to log errors.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property StandardOutputEncoding Gets the Encoding of the standard output stream of the task.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public property StandardOutputImportance Task Parameter: Importance with which to log text from the standard out stream.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property StandardOutputImportanceToUse Gets the actual importance at which standard out messages will be logged.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property StandardOutputLoggingImportance Gets the MessageImportance with which to log errors.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property TaskProcessTerminationTimeout A timeout to wait for a task to terminate before killing it. In milliseconds.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property TaskResources Gets or sets the culture-specific resources associated with the task.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0. (Inherited from Task.)
Public property Timeout Gets or sets the amount of time after which the task executable is terminated.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property ToolCanceled Used to signal when a tool has been cancelled.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public property ToolExe Projects may set this to override a task's ToolName. Tasks may override this to prevent that.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected property ToolName Gets the name of the executable file to run.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public property ToolPath Gets or sets the path of the executable file to run.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public property UseCommandProcessor Gets or sets a switch that specifies whether the tool task will create a batch file for the command-line and execute that using the command-processor, rather than executing the command directly.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public property YieldDuringToolExecution Indicates if the task will yield the node during tool execution.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.

Top

Methods

  Name Description
Protected method CallHostObjectToExecute Calls the host object to perform the work of the task.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public method Cancel Cancels the process executing the task by asking it to close nicely, then after a short period, forcing termination.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method DeleteTempFile Deletes the specified temporary file.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public method Equals (Inherited from Object.)
Public method Execute Runs the exectuable file with the specified task parameters.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0. (Overrides Task.Execute().)
Protected method ExecuteTool Creates a temporoary response (.rsp) file and runs the executable file.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method Finalize (Inherited from Object.)
Protected method GenerateCommandLineCommands Returns a string value containing the command line arguments to pass directly to the executable file.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method GenerateFullPathToTool Returns the fully qualified path to the executable file.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method GenerateResponseFileCommands Returns a string value containing the command line arguments to add to the response (.rsp) file before running the executable file.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public method GetHashCode (Inherited from Object.)
Protected method GetProcessStartInfo Initializes the information required to spawn the process executing the tool.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method GetResponseFileSwitch Returns the command line switch used by the executable file to specifiy a response (.rsp) file.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public method GetType (Inherited from Object.)
Protected method GetWorkingDirectory Returns the directory in which to run the executable file.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method HandleTaskExecutionErrors Handles execution errors raised by the executable file.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method InitializeHostObject Initializes the host object of the task.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method LogEventsFromTextOutput Parses a single line of text to identify any errors or warnings in canonical format.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method LogPathToTool Logs the tool name and path to all registered loggers.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method LogToolCommand Logs the starting point of the run to all registered loggers.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method MemberwiseClone (Inherited from Object.)
Protected method ResponseFileEscape Overridable method to escape the content of the response file.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Protected method SkipTaskExecution Indicates whether task execution should be skipped.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.
Public method ToString (Inherited from Object.)
Protected method ValidateParameters Indicates whether all task paratmeters are valid.MSBuild is now included in Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. You can use MSBuild 12.0 side-by-side with versions previously deployed with the .NET Framework.For more information, see What's New in MSBuild 12.0.

Top

Remarks

This abstract class provides default implementations for the methods and properties of a task that wraps a command line tool.

Examples

The following example creates a ToolTask that runs Ilasm.exe. The CommandLineBuilder, ToolLocationHelper, and TaskLoggingHelper classes are used to generate the information needed to run the task.

Imports System
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Text
Imports Microsoft.Build.Utilities
Imports Microsoft.Build.Framework

Namespace MSBuildTasks

    ''' <summary> 
    ''' A very simple and incomplete ToolTask to wrap the ILASM.EXE tool. 
    ''' </summary> 
    Public Class ILAsm
        Inherits ToolTask

        ''' <summary> 
        ''' Parameter bag. 
        ''' </summary> 
        Protected Friend ReadOnly Property Bag() As Hashtable
            Get 
                Return propertyBag
            End Get 
        End Property 

        Private propertyBag As New Hashtable()

        ''' <summary> 
        ''' The Source file that is to be compled (.il) 
        ''' </summary> 
        Public Property [Source]() As ITaskItem
            Get 
                Return Bag("Source")
            End Get 
            Set(ByVal value As ITaskItem)
                Bag("Source") = value
            End Set 
        End Property 

        ''' <summary> 
        ''' Either EXE or DLL indicating the assembly type to be generated 
        ''' </summary> 
        Public Property TargetType() As String 
            Get 
                Return Bag("TargetType")
            End Get 
            Set(ByVal value As String)
                Bag("TargetType") = value
            End Set 
        End Property '

        Protected Overrides ReadOnly Property ToolName() As String 
            Get 
                Return "ILAsm.exe" 
            End Get 
        End Property 

        ''' <summary> 
        ''' Use ToolLocationHelper to find ILASM.EXE in the Framework directory 
        ''' </summary> 
        Protected Overrides Function GenerateFullPathToTool() As String 
            ' Ask ToolLocationHelper to find ILASM.EXE - it will look in the latest framework directory available 
            Return ToolLocationHelper.GetPathToDotNetFrameworkFile(ToolName, TargetDotNetFrameworkVersion.VersionLatest)
        End Function 

        ''' <summary> 
        ''' Construct the command line from the task properties by using the CommandLineBuilder 
        ''' </summary> 
        Protected Overrides Function GenerateCommandLineCommands() As String 
            Dim builder As New CommandLineBuilder()

            ' We don't need the tool's logo information shown
            builder.AppendSwitch("/nologo")

            Dim targetType As String = Bag("TargetType")
            ' Be explicit with our switches 
            If Not (targetType Is Nothing) Then 
                If [String].Compare(targetType, "DLL", True) = 0 Then
                    builder.AppendSwitch("/DLL")
                ElseIf [String].Compare(targetType, "EXE", True) = 0 Then
                    builder.AppendSwitch("/EXE")
                Else
                    Log.LogWarning("Invalid TargetType (valid values are DLL and EXE) specified: {0}", targetType)
                End If 
            End If 
            ' Add the filename that we want the tool to process
            builder.AppendFileNameIfNotNull(Bag("Source"))

            ' Log a High importance message stating the file that we are assembling
            Log.LogMessage(MessageImportance.High, "Assembling {0}", Bag("Source"))

            ' We have all of our switches added, return the commandline as a string 
            Return builder.ToString()
        End Function 
    End Class 
End Namespace

using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.Build.Utilities;
using Microsoft.Build.Framework;

namespace MSBuildTasks
{
    /// <summary> 
    /// A very simple and incomplete ToolTask to wrap the ILASM.EXE tool. 
    /// </summary> 
    public class ILAsm : ToolTask
    {
        #region Member Data
        /// <summary> 
        /// Gets the collection of parameters used by the task class. 
        /// </summary> 
        /// <value>Parameter bag.</value> 
        protected internal Hashtable Bag
        {
            get
            {
                return bag;
            }
        }

        private Hashtable bag = new Hashtable();
        #endregion

        #region ILAsm Task Properties
        /// <summary> 
        /// The Source file that is to be compled (.il) 
        /// </summary> 
        public ITaskItem Source
        {
            get { return Bag["Source"] as ITaskItem; }
            set { Bag["Source"] = value; }
        }
        /// <summary> 
        /// Either EXE or DLL indicating the assembly type to be generated 
        /// </summary> 
        public string TargetType
        {
            get { return Bag["TargetType"] as string; }
            set { Bag["TargetType"] = value; }
        }
        #endregion

        #region ToolTask Members
        protected override string ToolName
        {
            get { return "ILAsm.exe"; }
        }

        /// <summary> 
        /// Use ToolLocationHelper to find ILASM.EXE in the Framework directory 
        /// </summary> 
        /// <returns></returns> 
        protected override string GenerateFullPathToTool()
        {
            // Ask ToolLocationHelper to find ILASM.EXE - it will look in the latest framework directory available 
            return ToolLocationHelper.GetPathToDotNetFrameworkFile(ToolName, TargetDotNetFrameworkVersion.VersionLatest);
        }
        #endregion

        #region ILAsm Task Members
        /// <summary> 
        /// Construct the command line from the task properties by using the CommandLineBuilder 
        /// </summary> 
        /// <returns></returns> 
        protected override string GenerateCommandLineCommands()
        {
            CommandLineBuilder builder = new CommandLineBuilder();

            // We don't need the tool's logo information shown
            builder.AppendSwitch("/nologo");

            string targetType = Bag["TargetType"] as string;
            // Be explicit with our switches 
            if (targetType != null)
            {
                if (String.Compare(targetType, "DLL", true) == 0)
                {
                    builder.AppendSwitch("/DLL");
                }
                else if (String.Compare(targetType, "EXE", true) == 0)
                {
                    builder.AppendSwitch("/EXE");
                }
                else
                {
                    Log.LogWarning("Invalid TargetType (valid values are DLL and EXE) specified: {0}", targetType);
                }
            }

            // Add the filename that we want the tool to process
            builder.AppendFileNameIfNotNull(Bag["Source"] as ITaskItem);

            // Log a High importance message stating the file that we are assembling
            Log.LogMessage(MessageImportance.High, "Assembling {0}", Bag["Source"]);

            // We have all of our switches added, return the commandline as a string 
            return builder.ToString();
        }
        #endregion
    }
}

Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

See Also

Reference

Microsoft.Build.Utilities Namespace